Title

Musical Math

Broad Question

How can music affect test scores?

Specific Question

How can different types of music affect test scores on a math tests?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that when the test subjects listen to classical music they will score higher than when they listen to heavy metal, children pop, or even just no music.

We predict this because in studies that others have done the test subjects that listen to classical music did better in tests than ones who did not. It is also shown that listening to music can also improve students learning ability.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Genre of music

Dependent Variable:

Test scores; percent correct

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Same classroom
Same lighting
Same volume on the headphones
Same seating
Same time given
Same math tests
Same songs per genre
Same level of outside noise
Same instructions given
Same gender of test subjects
Same difficulty of tests

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

Downloading the songs needed

Getting a room was a problem because most other students were already using that rooms we were considering to use. Instead of trying to find a room by our selves we asked teachers about spare rooms within the school that we could use. With their help we were able to find a room that we were able to use for the testing part of our experiment.

We also had trouble getting people that wanted to be a part in our experiment. We wanted at least 10 people, but we ended up with only 7. We had hoped that more people would be willing and it wouldn't only be girls because we wanted a wide range of people to do it. Not having much time, we did not try to get others to do it. We did also run into a problem of that one person refused to finish their test while listening to classical music because they "couldn't stand it".

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

None

Experimental Design

To test our question "How can different types of music affect test scores on math tests?" we will bring test subjects into an isolated classroom where they will listen to different genres of music depending on the treatment. For classical they will listen to Handel: Arrival Of the Queen of Sheba; by Academy of St. Martin In The Fields & Sibelius Karelia Suite-Intermezzo; by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and they will also do a test with no music. What score they get on the test is how we will find out the answer to our question.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Not Needed to be Purchased Songs	7	NA	0.00
iPod	1	NA	0.00
Headphones	1	NA	0.00
Math Tests	28	Online	0.00
Pencil	1	NA	0.00
Stopwatch	1	NA	0.00
Camera	1	NA	0.00
Folders	4	NA	0.00

Detailed Procedure

1. Get the following materials:

• Ipod or MP3 player
• Get 2 songs each in the following genre: Classical (Handel: Arrival Of the Queen of Sheba; by Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields, and Sibelius Karelia Suite-Intermezzo; by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra)
• Headphones
• A math test with 63 problems that are addition and subtraction problems at a low grade level
• A stopwatch
• Pencil
• Camera
• 2 folders (Label them Test 1 Results and Test 2 Results)

2. Find 7 willing 7th grade students to do the test cooperatively
3. Find a spare room that can be used at any time to hold tests in.
4. Bring each person in separately and tell them what they have to do (see script), for testing with silence and record the time it takes. If they take longer than 10 minutes stop them. Repeat this with each person.
5. When each person is done collect their test and put it in a folder labeled Test 1 Results
6. Repeat step 4 but with classical music (listed above) instead of silence and put the results in Test 2 Results
7. Grade all the test and write down what percent of them they got correct

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Data Table

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Data Analysis

Graphs

Photos

Student Taking Math Test With Music

Student Taking Math Test Without Music

Results

The experiment was designed to test the different effects on test scores based on the different types of music genres that the subjects listened to while they took the test. The results show that when listening to calm, classical music, subjects taking a math test scored higher than without music. The average score for classical was a 96, and without music it was 89.

Conclusion

The experiment was set up to test subjects results of a math test while listening to different types of music. The results answered the question. Overall, the Classical music scored higher than when the subjects did not listen to music. It was hypothesized that the Classical music would score higher than the other genres. The results proved the hypothesis to be correct. The average score for the classical music was 96, and the average score for silence was 89.

Discussion

The average result of Classical music was a score of 96. With no music at all, the average score was 89. Both Classical music and children pop had scored higher than the test results without music, classical music scoring higher by 7 points. This was hypothesized because several other websites that had done similar experiments had shown that classical and calm, low level music improved learning for it relaxed the brain, and a relaxed and calm brain improved focus.
Not all of the results were perfectly consistent. Certain subjects scored higher than others, which made it a bit troublesome because if one was too much of an outlier the average would drastically change. A few problems occurred in the experiment, some subjects were unwilling to participate at times for various reasons, which resulted in several gaps between tests and made it difficult to get through them all. Certain subjects did not wish to listen to certain music, therefore some songs had to be changed to fit all the subjects. This could have been a bit smoother if there was no need to change the songs, but overall it all turned out fine.
The knowledge of this experiment could greatly affect the world. If listening to calm music helps focus, more people across the world could have a better education. Taking a test could be a bit easier by listening to calm music. If a student was studying for a test and listened to some classical or low level music, their studying would work better, and therefore they would have a step ahead in taking the test, for the music would help keep the information in their brain.
This experiment could cause others that would deal with learning and music. People could study the effects of music on everyday tasks, such as driving or cooking or walking, to see if there was any change in the subjects based on the different type of music they listened to. Maybe if people realized that certain music could improve driving abilities, people might listen to different music to avoid car crashes due to little focus. Overall, music could greatly affect the whole world.

Background Research

Music can make a positive mood and can help learning.
Music affects the brain sometimes instantly and the effects can last a long time.
When classical music is played the students that listened to it got higher test scores than students that listened to rock music.
Classical, instrumental, low level music improves learning.
In a test with college students the students that listened to classical music scored nine points higher than students that did not listen to any music.
Music can focus and relax the brain, but can also distract the brain.
Music stimulates many parts of the brain, making it an effective therapy tool.

References

" » How Music Affects the Brain: the Power of Music." OmHarmonics - Online Binaural Beats Meditation Music Downloads. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://www.omharmonics.com/blog/how-music-affects-the-brain/>.

"How Does Music Affect the Brain?." Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://science.yourdictionary.com/articles/how-does-music-affect-the-brain.html>.

Johnson, Lee. "Information on How Different Types of Music Affect Test Scores | eHow.com." eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the expert in you. | eHow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ehow.com/info_8093329_information-music-affect-test-scores.html>.

"Music Affecting the Brain." Music Affecting the Brain. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica.htm>.

"Music Enhances Learning." English Grammar Courses on DVD. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://www.splashesfromtheriver.com/music-enhances-learning.htm>.

Rudinski, Alexander. "Experiments With Music & Its Effect on Test Scores | eHow.com." eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the expert in you. | eHow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ehow.com/info_7947643_experiments-its-effect-test-scores.html>.

"The Brain and Music: Improving Test Scores with Music." The Brain and Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://the-brain-and-music.blogspot.com/2009/01/improving-test-scores-with-music.html>.

Abstract

The purpose of the experiment was to see how test subject’s score on math tests while listening to different genres of music and how it changes the results of the test. It was hypothesised that classical music would have a more positive effects on the test subject's results compared to children pop or silence. The experiment was conducted by testing several different test subject’s by giving them selected math tests and had them use headphones to listen to the different genres of music that were specially selected. Just as we hypothesised, the result of the tests showed that the test subjects scored higher on the tests while listening to classical instead of when they were listening to children pop or silence.